Combined washing machine and extractor



Aug. 23, 1955 J. B. KIRBY 2,715,825

COMBINED WASHING MACHINE AND EXTRACTOR Filed Aug. 3, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS Aug. 23, 1955 J. B. KIRBY 2,715,826

COMBINED WASHING MACHINE AND EXTRACTOR Filed Aug. 3, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. JAMES B. KIRBY BY fllzt ATTORNEYS 1955 J. B. KIRBY COMBINED WASHING MACHINE AND EXTRACTOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 3, 1948 INVENTOR. JAMES B. KIRBY w /flifi ATTORNEYS 'the machine.

United States Patent COMBINED WASHING MACHINE AND EXTRACTOR James B. Kirby, West Richfield, Ohio, assignor to The Apex Electrical Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio, as trustee Application August 3, 1948, Serial No. 42,192

3 Claims. (Cl. 68-23) This invention relates "to washing machines, particularly to machines of the combined washer and extractor type, and is an improvement on the machine disclosed in and embodies certain of the inventions claimed in my co pending application Serial No. 619,849 filed October *One object of this invention is to effect an improved washing action in a combined washing machine and extractor by means of an agitating member operated by continuous rotation at a speed similar to the speed of rotation for extracting.

Another object is to produce a rapid and effective washing action, while distributing the clothes about the container and preventing tangling or the like, by the combination of an agitator wobbled at high speed by a continuously rotating member and washing ribs fixed to the interior of the container.

Another object is to improve and simplify means for limiting acceleration or the speed of rotation of the clothes container in an extractor when an out of bal- -ance load in the container exceeds the capacity of the balancing device.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings "forming part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through a combined washer and extractor embodying the invention;

Fig. '2'is a horizontal section taken on the line indicated at 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of-agitator and connecting sleeve;

Fig. 4-is a fragmentary vertical section on an enlarged scale showing the mounting .of the agitator and clothes receptacle, together with 'the means for operating the agitator during the washing operation and for rotating the receptacle and agitator simultaneously for extractingliquid from the clothes; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of the inner housing that forms a part of the yieldably mounted carrying frame, showing the actuator for the clutch and brake mechanism by means of which the receptacle may be clutched'to the drive shaft or to the supporting frame.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the machine is'housed within an .outer rectangular housing 1 which has a rectangular angleiron base frame 2. The housing is supported at its four corners by means of legs 3 independently adjustable to plumb the rotational axis of The housing has a top 4 that includes a removable lid 15 that closes a central opening. Within the top 4 and underlying the margin of the central opening there is an annular splash shield 6 to prevent liquid "being thrown through the opening during the washing operation.

A ledge 7 extends around the interior of the housing '1 intermediate the top and-bottom thereof and provides v-a support for a liquid collecting'trough S which collects liquid thrown from .the clothes during the extracting operation and delivers thesame'to asuitable drain-pipe 9. The outer wall of the drain trough 8 extends to ICC the top of the housing and is provided with a rubber tip 11 at its upper end for engagement with the underside of the cover 4 to provide a liquid seal.

A rectangular angle iron frame 12 is supported on the base frame 2 with its corners midway between the corners of the frame 2 as shown in Fig. 2. At each corner of the frame 12 there is supported a shallow circular metal cup 13 each cup being adapted to receive the suction cup base 14 of an elastic rubber post 15 the upper ends of which are received in sockets 16 attached to the base of a cylindrical inner housing 17. The housing 17 has an inturned flange 18 at the top thereof and the flange 18 supports a series of shallow circular cups 19 that receive the suction cup bases 20 of elastic rubf ber posts 21 whose upper ends are received in sockets 22 attached to the under side of a flat plate 23 positioned a short distance below the drain trough 8. The plate 23 has a downwardly projecting flange 24 surrounding a central opening therein within which a vertically dis.- posed cylindrical sleeve 25 is secured. The sleeve 25 extends downwardly from the plate 23 which is braced by means of a conical sheet metal member 26 having a flange 27 at its upper end secured to the plate 23 adjacent the periphery thereof and a flange 28 at its lower end secured to the lower end of the sleeve 25.

The yieldably supported frame formed by the plate 23, sleeves 25 and bracing member 26 receives a tubular bearing member 29 that fits within the vertical sleeve 25, that has an outwardly projecting flange 30 at its upper end that seats upon the plate 23 and that is secured to the plate by suitable means such as bolts 31. The bearing member 29 is centrally disposed and provides a support for a tubular shaft 32 that is journaled in bearing sleeves 33 at the upper and lower ends of the member 29. A space is provided between the bearing sleeves 33 within the member 29 to receive lubricant and suitable sealing rings 34 are mounted within the member 29 exteriorly of the sleeves 33.

A hub 35 is attached to the upper end of the shaft 32 and is positioned by a collar 36 that is clamped between the hub 35 and a shoulder on the shaft 32 and that engages with the upper bearing sleeve 33. The hub 35 serves to support a receptacle 37 for the clothes and cleaning liquid, the receptacle being formed to provide an annular trough-shaped bottom 38 and a substantially upright peripheral wall 39 that is circular in horizontal cross-section. The receptacle 37 has an annular top section 40 that is curved inwardly and provided with an inner marginal edge 41 that overlies the annular shield 6 so that liquid thrown against the interior of the section 40 will be discharged upon the annular shield 6 and directed back into the receptacle. Surrounding the upright wall 39 of the receptacle 37 there is a balancing chamber 42 of the character disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 17,844 filed March 30, 1848, now abandoned.

The lower portion of the top section 40 has openings 43 .normally closed by a rubber band 107 serving as a valve through which liquid forced upwardly along the peripheral wall of the receptacle by centrifugal force during the extracting operation may flow into the balancing chamber 42 which is provided with suitable drain openings 44 through which liquid escapes into the trough 8.

The balancing device 42 in the illustrated embodiment includes a two piece shell having an imperforate peripheral wall and inwardly directed top and bottom flanges 101 and 102, forming an annular chamber. Suitable bafiles are provided to prevent surging and the like while permitting controlled and restricted flow of liquid circumferentially within the chamber. As shown, ribs 103 and 104 are arranged vertically along the inner surface of the wall 100, the ribs 103 alternating with the ribs 104 about the chamber. The ribs 103, one of which is shown at the left in Fig. l, extend radially inward at the bottom along the flange 102, and stop short of the top flange 101. The alternate ribs 104, one of which is shown at the right in Fig. 1,,extend radially inward along the top flange 101 and stop short of the bottom flange 102. The spaces between the upper ends of the ribs 103 and the flange 101 and between the lower edge of the ribs 104 and the flange 102 provide a tortuous path through the annular chamber for the circumferential flow of liquid. An inner shell 105 formed with openings 106 is mounted on the balancing unit and engages the inner edges of the ribs 103 and 104.

A supporting member 45 is rotatably mounted coaxially with the shaft 32 and above the same in ball bearings 46 mounted in the hub 35. The upper portion of the supporting member 45 is formed to receive a ball bearing 47 that is positioned to support a short shaft 48 at a small inclination to the vertical. The shaft 48 has a flange 49 at its lower end and a collar 50 which engage the top and bottom edges of the inner race of the bearing 47 and secure the shaft 48 against endwise movement in the member 45.

A cap 51 closes the bearing receiving portion of the member 45 and has a central opening through which the shaft 48 extends, the cap 51 being secured to the member 45 by suitable means such asbolts 52. The shaft 48 has a reduced upper end 53 that receives a pair of hub plates 54 and 55 provided with peripheral flanges 56 and 57 and a clamping plate 58 having a peripheral flange 59. The plates 54, 55 and 58 are clamped to the shoulder at the lower end of the reduced portion 53 by means of a nut 60. A flexible agitator disc 61 which may be made of fabric reinforced moulded rubber is vulcanized between the flanges 56 and 57 of the hub plates 54 and 55 and the upper end of a flexible rubber sleeve 62 is clamped between the flanges 57 and 59 of the plates 56 and 58. The lower end of the sleeve 62 is of a diameter corresponding to that of the peripheral portion of the hub 35 and is clamped to the hub 35 by means of a clamping ring 63 which also serves to clamp the receptacle 37 to the peripheral portion of the hub, the ring 63 being secured to the hub 35 by suitable means such as bolts 64. The nut may be covered by an upwardly tapering cap 65 secured to the plate 54 by suitable means such as a bolt 66.

The agitator disc 61 may be provided with upwardly and downwardly projecting vanes 67 and 68. During the washing operation a wobbling motion is imparted to the agitator disc 61 by rotation of the support 45 while the receptacle 37 is held against turning, the disc 61 being held against turning about its own axis by means of the flexible sleeve 62. Rotation of the supporting member v45 moves the shaft 48 in a conical path causing a circumferentially progressing tilting movement of the agitator disc 61.

The flexible sleeve 62 has a fluid tight connection with the agitator disc and with the hub of the clothes receptacle so that it serves as a portion of the inner wall of the annular trough of the receptacle, and as a housing for the supporting member 45.

Other forms of agitator discs and connecting sleeves may be employed. As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings the agitator may be in the form of a flat metal disc 61a clamped to the shaft 48a by a nut 60a, the disc 61a being connected to the clothes receptacle by means of a flexible rubber sleeve 62a that has its upper end vulcanized or bonded to the underside of the disc 61a adjacent its periphery and that has its lower end secured with a clamping ring 63a to the hub by bolts 64a.

Rigidly attached to the conical member 26 of the yieldable receptacle supporting frame there is a downwardly extending substantially cylindrical housing member 69. The housing member 69 is secured to the conical member 26 by' suitable means such as bolts 70. The housing member 69 encloses the portions of the bearing member 29 and the tubular shaft 32 that project below the lower end of the sleeve 25 and also a portion of the driving mechanism.

Within the tubular shaft 32 there is mounted a central drive shaft 71 that is supported by a ball bearing 72 mounted in a collar 73 attached to the lower end of the shaft 32, the upper end of the shaft 71 being keyed to the supporting member 45. The shaft 71 projects below the bearing 72 and'has a pulley 74 attached to its lower end. The shaft 71 is driven by means of an electric motor 75 that is secured to the lower end of the housing member 69 in axial alignment with the shaft 71. The shaft of the motor 75 has a pulley 76 within the housing member 69 and a pair of pulleys 77 and 78 are mounted on a horizontal shaft 79 journaled in brackets 80 secured to the housing member 69 and projecting outwardly therefrom. A belt 81 extends over the pulleys 74, 76, 77 and 78 for driving the shaft 71 from the motor, the belt extending through an opening 82 in the housing member 69 in passing from the pulleys 74 and 76 to the pulleys 77 and 78.

A flexible sheet metal spider 83 is clamped between the collar 73 and a collar 84 on the shaft 32 and an annular friction clutch disc 85 is attached to the outer end of the arms of the spider 83. The resilient spider 83 exerts a downward thrust on the friction disc 85, pressing it against a flat friction clutch face 86 on the upper side of the pulley 74, thereby providing a releasable driving connection between the shaft 71 and the tubular receptacle supporting shaft 32 by means of which the two shafts may be caused to rotate in unison. The clutch disc 85 is of a radial width greater than the width of the clutch face 86 of the pulley 74 and the outer portion of the disc 85 overlies an annular friction brake disc 87 that is mounted for vertical movement and held against turning movement within the housing member 69. The brake disc 87 is normally supported on ledges 88 provided upon the interior of the housing member 69 and positioned to support the disc 87 clear of. the disc 85 a short distance below the same.

Means is provided for moving the brake disc 87 vertically into engagement with the clutch disc 85 and to exert an upward thrust on the disc 85 to move it up wardly out of engagement with the clutch face 86 of the pulley 74 to disengage the shaft 32 and receptacle 37 from the shaft 71 and to hold the receptacle against rotation. The friction disc 87 is actuated by means of a bail-shaped lever 89 the ends of which are connected to opposite sides of the housing member 69 by pivots 90. Inwardly of the pivoted ends thereof the lever 89 has inwardly projecting pins 91 that are received in lugs 92 attached to diametrically opposite portions of the disc 87. The disc 87 is pivotally suspended by means of the diametrically opposite pins 91 and is normally supported in horizontal position by the ledges 88. When the lever 89 is moved upwardly the brake disc 87 is lifted from the ledges 88 and brought into engagement with the disc 85, exerting an upward thrust thereon that lifts the clutch disc 85 out of engagement with the friction clutch face 86 of the pulley 74.

During operation of either of the disclosed embodiments of the machine the shaft 71 is continuously driven at uniform speed by the motor 75. During the washing operation the lever 89 is held in its raised position by suitable means such as a solenoid 93 having a vertically movable armature 94 pivotally connected to the lever 89. When the lever 89 is held in its uppermost position the clothes receptacle is held against rotation by the brake disc 87 and a progressive tilting movement is imparted to the agitator due to the inclination of the axis of the agitator with respect to the vertical shaft 71.

As the tilting motion of the agitator progresses about the container, the clothes and water in the path of the downward movement of the agiator are subjected to com pressive forces between the agitator and the bottom of the container, having radial and tangential components, causing this portion of the mass of clothes and water to flow radially outward and circumferentially in the direction of rotation of the shaft 71. At the same time, the clothes and water at an opposite point, where the agiator is tilting upwardly, are subjected to suction forces having radial and tangential components, causing this portion of the mass of clothes and water to flow radially inwardly and circumferentially in the direction of rotation of the shaft 71.

The ribs 99 intercept and retard the circumferential flow of the mass of clothes and water, so that the clothes and water do not circulate at the speed of rotation of the shaft 71. As disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 757,773 filed June 28, 1947, now Patent No. 2,672,744, dated Mar. 23, 1944, the ribs 99 are inclined so that their outer and upper ends are advanced in the direction of rotation with respect to their inner ends. Thus the circumferential flow causes the clothes and Water to move outwardly along the bottom of the container and upwardly along the side wall, producing a roll-over action that distributes the clothes and prevents tangling. The upwardly projecting hub cap 65 also aids in preventing tangling by preventing the clothes from going over the center of the agitator.

The relative speeds of roll-over and circumferential rotation are selected by determining, for a particular machine, the angle of inclination of the ribs 99 which produces the best results.

Since the mass of clothes and water is prevented, by the ribs 99, from rotating at the speed of rotation of the shaft 71, each portion of the mass is subjected alternately to the inward and outward radial forces produced by the motion of the agitator.

To change from the Washing t0 the extracting Operation posed with respect to said wall, a flexible rubber agitator it is only necessary to deenergize the solenoid 93 and permit the brake disc 87 to drop into engagement with the ledges 88, thereby permitting the clutch disc 85 to be forced downwardly by the spider 83 into engagement with the pulley 74 to cause the shaft 32 and clothes receptacle supported thereby to be driven through the disc 85 and spider 83.

It should be noted that the agitator, the clothes receptacle and the driving mechanism for the clothes receptacle and agitator are mounted as a unit by means of vertically and laterally yieldable supports on a subframe which in turn is mounted by means of vertically and laterally yieldable supports on the base of the machine, the two sets of vertically and laterally yieldable supports being axially spaced. This arrangement greatly reduces the critical speed of rotation so that when the clutch disc 85 is forced into engagement with the pulley 74 the clothes receptacle is quickly accelerated through its critical speed.

The rubber band 107 prevents the washing liquid from being splashed out through the discharge openings 43 during the washing operation and is given sufficient tension to remain closed against the pressure of the liquid as the clothes container is accelerated from rest to the region of its critical speed. Above the critical speed of rotation of the container the band 107 is forced away from the openings 43 by the pressure of the liquid and centrifugal force allowing the liquid to be discharged into the balancing chamber 42. Any unbalance that may exist in the clothes receptacle or that may be created by the initial discharge of water in the extracting operation tends to cause the out of balance weight to approach the axis of rotation when the clothes container is rotated at speeds exceeding its critical speed. This action tends to increase the radius of the side of the container opposite the unbalanced weight so that liquid discharged through the openings 43 tends to accumulate in the annular channel 42 on the side opposite the out of balance weight and thus tends to restore the balance of the receptacle. The liquid is held against the imperforate peripheral wall between the top and bottom flanges 101 and 102 by centrifugal force and may also enter the annular channel formed by the strip through openings 106. When the balancing device is filled by liquid at a particular point the excess liquid is discharged past the top and bottom flanges 101 and 102 into the tub 8.

Means are also provided for limiting the acceleration or the speed of rotation of the clothes receptacle in the event there should be an out of balance condition exceeding the capacity of the balancing device 42. To this end two chains 95 and 96 are attached at their upper ends to inner and outer portions of the bottom of the trough 8 and extend downwardly through a small bellshaped opening 97 in the plate 23 that is located substantially midway between the points of attachment of the chains 95 and 96 to the trough 8. The chains 95 and 96 normally hang vertically from the opening 97 and are attached to an extension 98 of the lever 89. Excessive lateral movement of the supporting frame with respect to the fixed housing applies tension to one or the other of the chains 95 and 96, causing the lever 89 to be lifted intermittently to momentarily release the clutch disc 85 from the pulley 74 so that rotation is retarded or further acceleration is prevented, so that excessive vibration is prevented.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the specific devices herein shown and described may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a washing machine, a receptacle formed to provide an annular channel for clothes and washing liquid and having an upright peripheral Wall, a supporting member mounted to rotate about a vertical axis centrally disdisc Within the receptacle and mounted at its center on said supporting member to turn with respect thereto about an inclined axis, means for holding said disc against rotation, and driving means for imparting continuous rotation to said supporting member to wobble the axis of said disc, said disc being vertically yieldable adjacent its periphery.

2. In a washing machine, a receptacle formed to provide an annular channel for clothes and washing liquid and having an upright peripheral wall, a supporting member mounted to rotate about a vertical axis centrally disposed with respect to said wall, a flexible rubber agitator disc within the receptacle and mounted at its center on said supporting member to turn with respect thereto about an inclined axis, said disc having upwardly and downwardly projecting vanes, means for holding said disc against rotation, and driving means for imparting continuous rotation to said supporting member to wobble the axis of said disc.

3. In a washing machine, a receptacle formed to provide an annular channel for clothes and Washing liquid and having an upright peripheral wall, a supporting member mounted to rotate about a vertical axis centrally disposed with respect to said wall, a flexible rubber agitator disc within the receptacle and mounted on said supporting member to turn with respect thereto about an inclined axis, means for holding said disc against rotation, driving means for continuously rotating said supporting member and imparting wobbling movement to the axis of said dis-c, thereby imparting wobbling movement to said disc to cause the clothes and liquid to travel circumferentially in said channel, and vanes carried by said receptacle for imparting a rolling motion to said clothes as they move circumferentially.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,619,637 Schroeder Mar. 1, 1927 (Other references on following page) 

